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May 16, 2015

Those of you familiar with the name Rebecca Scattergood Savery (1770-1855) most likely associate her with the three spectacular Sunburst quilts she made, perhaps based on kaleidoscope images, and each containing thousands of diamond-shaped pieces. These quilts currently reside at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Museum of American Folk Art in New York, and the Winterthur Museum, Gardens & Library in Winterthur, Delaware. (Go to http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/70225.html?mulR=525302661|1 to see her Sunburst quilt at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.)

Less well known are two of her quilts - both inscribed friendship quilts - at the International Quilt Study Center and Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska. Another similar quilt, owned by the Museum of American Folk Art and dated 1844, has been attributed to Elizabeth Hooten (Cresson) Savery because the name "E.H. Savery" appears on its center block. It is possible that Rebecca and her daughter-in-law Elizabeth, who married Rebecca's oldest son William, both participated in its creation. (Refer to our post of March 1, 2014 for a photograph and description of the inscribed friendship quilt at the Museum of American Folk Art. One of the ink drawings on this quilt depicts Penn's Treaty based on Benjamin West's painting titled "Penn's Treaty with the Indians.")

Today's post deals with the first of the two quilts belonging to the International Quilt Study Center and Museum. This quilt, part of the Ardis and Robert James Collection, is also dated 1844. It measures 118.5 inches by 114 inches and is comprised of eighty-five six-pointed, mosaic patchwork, star blocks set en pointe. The hexagons at the centers of the star blocks are inscribed with names in ink and also contain several ink illustrations.

Photograph courtesy of the International Quilt Study Center and Museum, Lincoln, Nebraska.

The center block of this quilt contains the name Cyrus Cadwallader (1763-1848). He was eighty-one years old in 1844 and the oldest person named on the quilt. He was also a prominent citizen who served as a state Senator for Pennsylvania from 1816-1825. The names of six other members of his family are also inscribed on this quilt which may or may not have been made as a tribute to him.

Eight of the quilt's star blocks display the inscription "Rebecca Savery/Aged 74". The names of another fourteen Savery family members appear on the quilt along with the names of fifteen Scattergood and ten Cope family members. Several Scattergoods married Cadwalladers, Saverys, and Copes so the quilt is not only a friendship quilt but also documents a network of families who were members of the community of Religious Society of Friends that existed in the Delaware Valley area in Philadelphia and, by extension, to the east of Philadelphia across the Delaware River into New Jersey.

Quilt maker Rebecca Scattergood Savery was from an early Quaker family who migrated from England and settled in Burlington County, New Jersey in the late 1600s. She was born in Philadelphia on July 29, 1770 to John Scattergood (1742-1776) and his wife, Elizabeth Head (1749-1836). On November 14, 1791, Rebecca married Thomas Savery (1751-1819), the son of William Savery (1721 or 22- 1789) who would become one of Philadelphia's most renowned cabinet and chair makers. Thomas was a carpenter as well, following in his father's trade as furniture maker. Rebecca and Thomas had five children between 1798 and 1810: William (1798-1858); Mary (1800-1869); Thomas (1802-1860); Elizabeth (1806-1860); and, Sarah (1810-1832). The earliest quilt attributed to Rebecca is dated 1827, seventeen years after the birth of her last child.

William Savery chairs on display in Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Source of image: Wikimedia Commons.

The article by Mimi Sherman cited below comments on the British fabrics used in Rebecca Scattergood Savery quilts and the influence of British quilt making techniques represented by Rebecca's Sunburst and star signature quilts. During the late 1600s through the mid-1800s, Delaware Valley Quakers from England maintained close ties with the London Yearly Meeting and engaged in seafaring trade that facilitated the import of British fabrics and the use of the English mosaic patchwork techniques so expertly used in Rebecca's quilts.

Detail of quilt IQSC 1997.007.0118. Elizabeth Savery block with ink

depiction of a bee hive and her name inscribed on a ribbon that crosses it.

Photograph courtesy of the International Quilt Study Center and Museum.

Several members of Rebecca's family, including her grandfather Joseph Scattergood (1713-1754) and, by marriage, Thomas Pym Cope (1768-1854) and his sons, established commercial seafaring businesses moving people, products and, in the case of the Cope Packet Line, mail between the east coast of America to England and back. In particular, the crossing frequency of the Cope Packet Line, with three packet ships in transit at all times, provided ample opportunity for Rebecca and other family members to obtain British fabrics for their clothing and quilt making activities.

erected this stone which reads: "On the 30th day of July 1754 died Joseph Scattergood, Esq. aged

40 years, And the next day was interred here, He was a Husband Loving & Beloved, A Tender parent

A Kind Relative, A Sincere & Faithful Friend a Good Master, an Honest Man. This Stone is placed

over his Grave by his Mournfull [sic] Widow as a Tribute Justly due to his Memory."

The topic of our next post will be the second Rebecca Scattergood Savery signature quilt at the International Quilt Study Center and Museum, and the British-style mosaic patchwork technique used in its construction.

May 1, 2015

We introduced you to the Emlen-Williams quilt on July 4, 2012 in a post about the placement of names on the surface of Quaker signature quilts. This silk wedding quilt, a holding of the Winterthur Museum, Gardens & Library, demonstrates a practice of grouping the names of close family members at the center of a quilt with the names of more distant relatives, friends, and neighbors radiating out toward the quilt's edge - a practice that is often observed on Quaker signature quilts.

The Emlen-Williams Quilt. Photograph courtesy of the Winterthur Museum,

Gardens & Library, Winterthur, Delaware.

This quilt was made in 1851 to commemorate the marriage of Sarah Williams and Samuel Emlen of Philadelphia. It measures 79 inches by 98 1/2 inches and is a pieced, silk friendship quilt displaying a star and triangle pattern (sometimes referred to as the LeMoyne pattern). Ninety-one names were placed on the quilt but, due to silk deterioration and the fading of some of the ink, just more than seventy of these names are still legible. The legible inscriptions were both hand-written and stamped.

A beautifully inscribed name appearing on The Emlen-Williams quilt. Photograph

by Mary Holton Robare with permission of the Winterthur Museum, Gardens & Library.

Samuel Emlen (1829-1920) married Sarah Williams (1830-1913), the daughter of George Guest and Hannah Newlin Williams, in Philadelphia on September 30, 1851 at the Sixth Street Meetinghouse of the Religious Society of Friends.

Samuel, the son of James and Sarah Farquhar (nee Foulke) Emlen, was one of a long line of Emlens descended from George Emlen who migrated to America soon after William Penn arrived in this country. George married in Philadelphia in 1685 and was a vintner by profession. His line produced a series of George Emlens, one of whom was his grandson, George, carrying on the trade of brewer established by his father (also a George). (Although the Emlens were Quakers, the production of wine and beer was considered an honorable profession at the time and was not frowned upon.) The grandson was financially successful in his inherited trade and established a county seat in Whitemarsh Valley to which he and his family permanently moved during the British occupation of Philadelphia in 1777. There, they hosted General George Washington and his staff from November 2nd through December 11th, 1777 while Washington conducted a series of skirmishes against General Howe's British troops before moving on to Valley Forge for the winter encampment.

George Emlen's estate in Whitemarsh Valley where he hosted General George Washington

in 1777. Source of image: Wikimedia Commons.

Samuel and Sarah lived with her parents in Philadelphia after their marriage but in 1860 began to build a large house at 121 West Coulter Street in Georgetown, moving there in the early spring of 1861. Sarah's parents moved with them to the new house and remained there for the rest of their lives.

Samuel had practiced law and engaged in business while living in Philadelphia. After the move to Germantown, he ran a seed and agricultural equipment business (census records list his profession as "agriculturalist") and he also became a practicing Quaker minister. After retirement in 1891, Samuel devoted himself to religious and philanthropic work.

Over the years, Samuel and Sarah had seven children, two of whom died young of diphtheria. Sarah's life after marriage was, by necessity, largely devoted to the care of her children and, eventually, to the care of her parents, although census records show that she and Samuel enjoyed the help of live-in servants to help on the several acres of land that surrounded their home, attend to the farm animals, and perform domestic duties indoors.

Sarah Williams Emlen about 1900. Gift of descendants of Sarah and Samuel Emlen to the Winterthur

Katherine A. Hunt, in analyzing the names on Sarah's wedding quilt, was able to glean information about Sarah's premarital social life by identifying her relationships to those named on the quilt. The relationships of those represented on Quaker signature quilts, in particular, reveal the community and social networks of the quilt maker(s), quilt recipient(s), or both.

Sarah was only twenty years old when she married Samuel. Until that time, the names on her quilt indicate that her community and social networks included: 1) her immediate family and close relatives; 2) associates of both Sarah and Samuel from the Westtown Boarding School - a popular and prestigious Quaker school serving Philadelphia and surrounding communities which they both attended; 3) neighbors, friends, and family members who attended the same Quaker meeting and lived near the Williams family in the Franklin Square area of Philadelphia; and, 4) members and associates of The Female Society of Philadelphia for the Relief and Employment of the Poor.

Quaker women associated with the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and its several Monthly Meeting venues heavily contributed their time and financial support to a variety of philanthropic causes and organizations in the area. The Female Society of Philadelphia for the Relief and Employment of the Poor was founded in 1795 by a few young Quaker women, including Anne Parrish who was also a founding member of the Aimwell School, for the purpose of offering relief and employment to poor women who were willing and able to work. It was formally incorporated by unmarried members of the Society on January 12, 1815. Sarah's mother, Hannah Newlin Williams, is cited by Katherine Hunt as having been a contributor to the Society starting in 1818, three years after it was formally incorporated. One of Sarah's cousins, Margaret, was listed as a member in 1850. Sarah, herself, was first recorded as a member in 1851, the year she married Samuel Emlen, but she appears to have participated actively in its works for some time before her marriage.

"Slightly more than twenty of the individuals who signed Sarah's quilt had an association with the society, and many others had family members who had been involved with it." (Hunt, 48-49.) The number of the Society's associates whose names are inscribed on Sarah's quilt indicates that she had a close relationship with them prior to her marriage and probably spent much of her time in support of their philanthropic activities. A great deal more will be said about this organization in a later post about The House of Industry Quilt owned by the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and displayed at the Arch Street Monthly Meetinghouse in Philadelphia.

The names appearing on Sarah's wedding quilt reveal a network of relationships that she enjoyed before marrying Samuel and until moving to their residence in Germantown. Family relationships would have continued after the move, but Sarah may not have had the opportunity or inclination to maintain strong associations with some of the others named on her quilt, especially as a married woman living on the outskirts of Philadelphia proper with several children to attend.

These last two photographs show detail of The Emlen-Williams Quilt. Photographs

courtesy of the Winterthur Museum, Gardens & Library.

Sarah lived to be eighty-three years old, dying on October 19, 1913 of influenza with bronchitis. She was still living in the West Coulter Street residence at the time of her death. Samuel passed away seven years later on December 5, 1920.

Samuel Emlen about 1900. A gift of descendants of Sarah and Samuel Emlen to the Winterthur

Museum, Gardens and Library. Use of photograph courtesy of the Winterthur Museum, Gardens and Library.

We wish to thank Linda Eaton, Director of Collections & Curator of Textiles, Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library for permission to use museum photographs of The Emlen-Williams Quilt and of Sarah and Samuel Emlen.

Emlen Family, One of a Series of Sketches Written by Frank Willing Leach for the Philadelphia North American, 1907-1913, and Brought Down to Date, 1932. Accessed 4/24/2015 at http://emlen.us/Emlen-article.html.

Ann Hanna Hambleton

Ann was the mother-in-law of Philena Cooper Hambleton, the subject of Philena's Friendship Quilt: A Quaker Farewell to Ohio, and the great-aunt of Senator Marcus Hanna of Ohio.

American Quilt Study Group

Do you know about the American Quilt Study Group (AQSG)? If not, you should. The purpose of this non-profit organization is to establish, sustain, and promote the highest standards for quilt related studies, to encourage these studies, and to provide opportunities to disseminate the work of both academic and non-academic researchers. Membership in the AQSG entitles one to receive Uncoverings, an annual journal of the research papers presented at AQSG's yearly Seminar, and a quarterly publication titled Blanket Statements containing research papers, notes and queries, as well as AQSG and quilt world news. In addition, an annual directory is provided that lists the names, contact information, and interests of current AQSG members--a valuable networking resource that gives access to approximately 950 fellow quilt enthusiasts. Click on the quilt block above to visit AQSG's web site and learn how to become a member. The site also provides information about the organization's annual Seminar, its publication opportunities, its Quilt Study program, and the Technical Guides and other publications available to members and the general public. AQSG is also on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/American-Quilt-Study-Group/149056808116.

Quaker Quilts: Snapshots from an Exhibition

This pamphlet by Mary Holton Robare contains photographic and informational snapshots of quilts that were displayed in a three-day exhibit of Quaker Quilts held at Abram's Delight Museum in Winchester, Virginia, in 2014. The exhibit featured twenty-six quilts made between ca. 1840 and 2007. Click on the image to learn more about it.

Quilts and Quaker Heritage

Mary Holton Robare's book on selected quilts from an exhibition at the Virginia Quilt Museum in 2008. Click on the book to order and search by title.

Philena's Friendship Quilt: A Quaker Farewell to Ohio

In this 4th publication of the Ohio Quilt Series published by Ohio University Press, Lynda Salter Chenoweth presents the story of Philena Cooper Hambleton and the quilt made for her in Ohio in 1853 to take with her when she migrated to Iowa. To order, click on the book and then search by title.

Neighbors and Friends: Quakers in Community

Lynda Salter Chenoweth's second book based on her research into Philena's quilt tells the stories of those whose names appear on the quilt and places their lives in context. To order, click on the book and then search by title.

When This You See Remember Me

Also of interest by Mary Holton Robare. Schoolgirl Samplers of Winchester and Frederick County, Virginia. To order, click on the book, click "Store", then "Softcover Books" and search on title.

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Copyright

(c) 2011-2017 Lynda Salter Chenoweth and Mary Holton Robare. Absolutely no reproduction or distribution permitted beyond one copy for personal study. For additional permissions regarding text please e-mail lchen@saber.net. All images are reproduced with permission of copyright holders. Any commercial or online use is strictly forbidden.

Lynda Salter Chenoweth

Mary Holton Robare

About Us

Lynda and Mary are quilt historians experienced in researching and publishing information about quilts made by members of the Religious Society of Friends. Their particular interest is in 19th century inscribed quilts that document Quaker families and their communities.
Lynda lives in Sonoma,California, and is a writer, a quilter, a researcher, and a member of the Board of the American Quilt Study Group. Mary lives in Winchester, Virginia, and is a writer, a researcher, and a choreographer and dance instructor.